If You Love Him: Tadaima
by sakura-no-fuyu
Summary: Kagome loves Inuyasha. She loves him so much, that she can't be with him anymore, so she writes him a note, explaining her feelings, but love cannot be ignored so easily.


Lexi-chan presents:

If You Love Him (Tadaima)

May 08, 2005

A/N: This story is current with chapter 408 in the manga. That means only a few things, really. One: Kagura is dead (Kohaku is not)as of this story. That means no Sess/Kagu. I know, I liked that couple, too, but if you notice the date I started writing this, chapter 408 had already come out. I haven't finished reading that chapter, but I know Sesshoumaru ain't dead. Yay for fluffy and Inuyasha's suicidal behavior! Another note: this doesn't take place directly after chapter 408, but in the distant future. I won't update the story to conform to future chapters, and from what Takahashi-sama says, that could be up to another 100 chapters. And as for why it has two names... well, just read, and I think it will explain itself. Okay, now on with the show.

* * *

I'm sorry it had to end this way...

Kagome

Kagome bit her lips as she read the last line. She _was_ sorry. Sorry all of this had to happen. But now, she found it hard to be glad that she had even come to the feudal era in the first place. Sorry she had to meet Inuyasha. Whoever had said the 'To have loved and lost is better to have never loved at all,' obviously had never tried the situation. Inuyasha didn't love her. She could live with that. But the knowledge that he loved someone whom he had already lost, and the fact that their faces were the same... it was too much to bear. Perhaps, all of the tender moments they had ever shared, all of the smiles, the talks, the happiness... did he only see Kikyou in her? Had she always been a poor substitute for Kikyou? Or was it possible that she had only ever been a kakera detector?

It was these possibilities that had led her to make the decision she had made nights ago. She had decided it was impossible to keep being with Inuyasha when she loved, but he did not. So, she had treated the past few days like they were her last on Earth, because she knew her world would shatter like the Shikon no Tama when she left him. Inuyasha had unknowingly become her pillar of strength, her happiness, what she lived for. He was the only person that made her so angry that she could cry, and he was also the only person who made her happy by just being there. Before she had known it, before she could even have realized it, she was in love with him.

She had wanted to heal his heart. She could have made him happy. Kagome could have been a good wife. She had _wanted_ to be his love. She had wanted him to laugh and smile, like she knew he wanted to laugh and smile with Kikyou.

Kikyou... there was no more bitterness in those two syllables like there had been long ago. Kagome found it as hard to hate her as she found it hard to commit seppuku. She couldn't do it. She wouldn't do it, and she had no reason to. As painful as it was to watch her kiss Inuyasha, she had known that it wasn't her fault. Kikyou had only loved Inuyasha, the same way that Kagome loved Inuyasha now. She wanted him to know this. So she added a P.S.

_P.S. Inuyasha, I love you._

She stared out at the hard night and sighed. She was a little disappointed in him that he hadn't heard her leave. But then again, he hadn't heard her crying every night, either. Kagome smiled softly, wondering what he would think when he found the letter, sitting by his palm.

_Please don't try and come after me._ _I can't take it anymore._

He would understand. And even if he didn't, his wound would eventually heal. He would eventually realize that what she had done was for him. Maybe he could even miss her, even just a little. That thought made her sad, too. As much as she knew she would miss him, she sincerely hoped that he wouldn't waste his life wondering why she had left, or missing someone who wasn't there anymore.

Kagome reached up to play with the bottle of Shikon no Kakera in her neck, and remember that she had left them with him. Suddenly, her heart lurched with sadness. She didn't want to leave... but she had to. Her place wasn't in the feudal era. She never should have laid eyes on Inuyasha!

But then why had the Shikon No Tama been in side of her? Kagome could hardly believe it was because it _liked_ her. And why had the reincarnation of Kikyou just _happen_ to live in the exact same place Kikyou had sealed Inuyasha to the Goshinboku nearly five-hundred years before? ...No, it wasn't coincidence, but that didn't mean she was supposed to stay.

Besides, it wasn't like she could do anything Kikyou couldn't.

* * *

_Inuyasha, _

_I'm looking at this bottle of Shikon no Kakera right now, and I can't help but think how much it reminds me of you. On the out side, there is a thick wall surrounding your heart, making it impossible to break through. On the inside, though, there is so much beauty. I wanted to break the outside wall to let the beauty flow out, but it's so hard. I've given up. I can't break the wall for fear that the beautiful contents could turn evil. They could turn pure, too, but I'm afraid of the risk._

_It seems like I'm afraid of a lot lately. I'm not afraid of Naraku -I know you'll kill him- but I'm afraid of myself, and the feelings that I have. Perhaps, it's that, now, of all times, I am more like Kikyou. I understand how she feels, believing herself to be out of place. She shouldn't be here, and neither should I. So I'll leave._

_I'm crying again. Have you noticed? I've cried so much, lately. I'm tired of it. But I'm not tired of you. I never could be. So, I think I'll try and move on. Maybe my wounds will heal. Maybe they won't. I don't know, and frankly, I don't care. I'll do what I have to. May you be happy with your life. Please don't try and come after me. I can't take it anymore. _

_I'm sorry it had to end this way..._

_Kagome_

_P.S. Inuyasha, I love you._

Inuyasha had already re-read the letter at least five times. Especially the last line.

_P.S. Inuyasha, I love you._

She had left. Kagome had packed up and left, asking him not to come after her. _Why!_ What had he done wrong? Was it something he'd said? Was it Kikyou? What would possess her to just pick up and leave? Why would she do something so stupid?

Inuyasha leaned up against the hut wall. She had left, in the middle of the night... he could still smell her tears, though they were long-ago dried. He could still smell her scent. Why? _Why had she just left?_ She had never given any indication that she was upset, or even sad. So why could she suddenly not take it anymore?

The thought suddenly occurred to Inuyasha that maybe Kagome had _never_ been able to take it. Maybe she had _always _been upset, he was just too dense to notice it. How many times had she screamed at him, and then forgave him? Was it possible that she had never really forgiven him? That she had just harbored the sadness, the knowledge that he loved Kikyou more than her?

_P.S., Inuyasha, I love you._

Oh, God, now that he thought about it, it all made sense. When she had said she wanted to be with him... When the witch had trapped his human soul in the mirror... and she had screamed out...

_I love you as a hanyou, Inuyasha! _

Ice slipped into his stomach when he thought of his friends... Sango, Miroku, and even Shippou would assume it was their own fault. They would blame themselves, and it was really his idiocy at failing to see Kagome as he should have. She had tried repeatedly to show him how much she cared, but he only sought after Kikyou. He could almost feel the words in the letter that weren't there.

_I tried so hard to save you, but you only grasped what wasn't there anymore. I can't help you if you won't let me in, and it's just too hard to try anymore. _

If he had never felt for Kagome like that, then why was his hear hurting so much now? Why? Inuyasha felt like he had to ask someone these questions, but it was too late.

* * *

Sango had known something was wrong the moment she had woken up that morning. The protective aura that Kagome normally projected around their sleeping areas had completely dissipated. Considering that Kagome never let her guard down, it was the natural assumption that she was gone. 

Except, it hadn't really occurred to her at the time what precisely that might mean.

She had readily assumed Kagome and Inuyasha had sparred in the night, ending, of course, with Kagome leaving and Inuyasha fuming. But Sango hadn't found Inuyasha fuming... he had been very quiet- enough unlike himself for Sango to expect the worst.

It was only afterwards, though, that she realized Kagome was gone for good. After she had found the letter addressed to herself. Kagome's pretty handwriting was the first thing she noticed. It was then that it hit her that she was gone for good.

She realized how much of a friend Kagome was. She had listened to Sango when she was upset. She was her confidant, one of the only friends Sango had ever felt like she could trust- who else had ever been able to heal so many wounds?

Why had she so suddenly left?

_Sango, _

Hey, I just wanted you to know how good of a friend you are. I've never had anyone that I could just hang out and be real with. Thanks so much, Sango-chan. May you find Kohaku and live happily. May you love Miroku-sama. May you be happy forever.

Please, don't worry about me; I'll be fine. I really will. Yes, I was tired. Maybe it was the only thing I never told you. I'll sleep now, I guess. But one day, I'll wake up, and when I do, I'll come back. I hope you stay happy, Sango-chan.

Love, Kagome

So, she had become tired of waiting. Sango supposed she could understand. But wake up from what? And did it mean she would return?

* * *

Kagome awoke with a start. 

_Where am I? What did I do?_

She lay in the darkness for an unknown amount of time before sitting up. She noticed a bad taste in her mouth, and the fact that she hadn't washed her hair in days. She also felt the bitter pain in her heart throbbing with an indignant unrest. She suddenly felt the flow of revelation seep from the pain.

_I let him down, didn't I?_

For the first time, Kagome sincerely wished she would have tried harder to help Inuyasha's pain. She felt selfish for leaving him there, all alone.

But she _hadn't _left him all alone– he had Kikyou, didn't he? He didn't need some whiny little girl hold him back from his mission to avenge Kikyou.

But what of the others? What did they think of her sudden disappearance? Was Miroku-sama angry? Was Sango-chan worried? Was Shippou-chan scared? Did the miss her? Did they fear for her safety?

Kagome felt more tears prickle from behind her eyes. Her body threatened to succumb to what it had been fighting for unending weeks. She had thought that getting away from Inuyasha would help heal her broken heart, but now she only felt as though she had let him and all of her friends down. A verse suddenly fell into her mind like a weight of bricks.

_If you love him, let him go... _

If he comes back, he's yours,

If he doesn't, it was never meant to be.

Suddenly, in spite of the pain, in spite of the anguish that filled her heart and the tears that laced her eyes, Kagome knew she had done the right thing. She had known all along, she could never be with Inuyasha. Kikyou had known the same thing, and that's why she had put so much distance between them.

Yes, she had definitely done the right thing.

* * *

It was two months after Kagome's disappearance. Inuyasha sat reclining on a branch of the Goshinboku, like he had so many times before, waiting for Kagome to return. She, of course, wouldn't be returning this time -he had long ago decided that. No, now he sat watching the prairie grass sway, and remembering how it was back then.

_Back then...? Has it really been so long?_

It had only been two months, yet so much had happened. Naraku had been defeated, but not before he had pushed Kohaku to his last bit of strength. The young boy had died in Sango's arms that night. Inuyasha was even glad that it had been Sango to deliver the final shot to Naraku's head. She really had deserved it.

And then, it had only been a few weeks until the slayer and the monk were married. And, even _she_ probably didn't even know it yet, but Inuyasha's nose couldn't have missed it– the slayer was already with child. Inuyasha let a small smile pass over his face at what Sango and the bouzu would say about that.

And then he let the smile fade when he thought of Kikyou.

She had played a major role in Naraku's defeat, too. Inuyasha had almost cried when he realized what she had been planning to do all along. Kikyou had sacrificed the little bit of human soul she had left in one last purifying arrow. She had died a second death in his arms, while Sango was mourning her brother. He felt only anger now, when he thought of that... not at Kikyou, or Sango, or even at Naraku, but at the witch Urasue. She would never of had to live her second -unwanted- 'life' had it not been for her.

Kikyou had suffered a second death that night, but he would be lying if he had said that he had missed that smile that had graced her lips at the thought of her own death.

Miroku's kazaana had faded away to nothing. Naraku's minions had all vanished. Inuyasha hadn't been expecting them all to suddenly disappear, but he wasn't necessarily surprised. After all, they _were _a part of him.

Inuyasha also found himself slightly sympathetic towards his older brother. He had perhaps loved Kagura, if Inuyasha could believe that that sonofabitch could ever love anything, besides himself. But when he thought about it, Sesshoumaru probably thought the same thing about him.

He'd had his fair share of things to say when he found out about Kagome's leaving. But surprisingly, most of it had been pretty mild, and not much had been insulting. At least not in the way it usually was. He'd seemed almost sympathetic, too.

Perhaps Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands, almighty Dai-Inu Youkai, really had fallen for the Wind Sorceress?

Inuyasha sighed, smelling the hint of passing Summer in the late-afternoon breeze. It really was one of those relaxing lay-around days. But Inuyasha just couldn't relax.

Not without know if Kagome was safe. Sure, her era was pretty calm, but, you never know, what with those big metal things zipping around everywhere, and those evil humans that raped women... He was on his feet in a flash, thinking about that, but Kagome's words settled him down.

_Please don't try and come after me._ _I can't take it anymore._

He sighed. He would just have to try and get used to her absence. But it wasn't so easy. It seemed like, when he met her, it was so easy for her to just become part of his life. But it wasn't so easy forgetting all of what she had sone for him. She had shed tears, she had shed blood, and skin, gotten scars... and he done so for her. It was impossible to forget that.

* * *

Kagome stared at the book filled with information about the one place she needed no information on. 

_Feudal history... Inuyasha is history_._ He's my past..._

Kagome sighed. Nothing like fourth period to make you think of past loves. She couldn't help but to wonder what Inuyasha was doing at the moment.

It had been three months since she had last seen Inuyasha. She was starting to forget how his voice sounded when he was angry, happy, sad... loving? Had his voice ever been loving?

Yes, it had. When he had forgotten that she wasn't Kikyou, and tried to kiss her... when he had been human and injured... and asked to borrow her lap... when they had been in Togenkyo, and he was badly injured...

He had been so courageous that night. He had shown that he was willing to die for Kagome. Now that she thought about it, she might have jumped after him, that night. She had been so scared, so sure he was dead... and so happy, so relieved when he was not... so relieved she was brought to tears.

And when the Kaze no Kizu had backfired on him... the night they met Kanna. He had been on the verge of death. Kagome hadn't had all of her soul, but she'd _had_ to see Inuyasha. What would she have done, had he died?

A lump in her throat rose at the very thought. She knew what she would have done: she would have left. She would have left him to get away from his memory, but she never would have truly forgotten him. Which led her to think... was he dead to her now? Had she left him, like he was a rotting corpse, disgusting, vile, purple-gray with decay.

Kagome's stomach lurched at the mental image of a disembodied head, with silver strands of hair falling into a puddle of red blood, lying in her lap. She shook her head to get the thought out, earning her a few very odd glances from Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi, the last of which had been asking her what was wrong all day.

_I just didn't get enough sleep last night... no, really, I'm fine... I'm just PMS'd... I lost the love of my life, and I'm still not over it, so please, just get out of my face..._

Kagome's eyes blurred with unshed tears. She stared determinedly out the window... the same window Inuyasha had scratched his ears while waiting to give her her lunch. Kagome swallowed. She'd had enough.

She stood up, and left the room, ignoring her teachers questioning protests. She immediately left the building and headed home, not knowing what she would do when she got there. All she could think to do was go and be near the Goshinboku and the well. She wanted to touch the place where he had been, be as close to him as possible, try and feel him.

For some reason, she needed to feel him. It wasn't something that she just wanted; she literally felt like she needed to be near him, to touch him, to breath him if she were to survive even another day. She sighed. Here she was, out in the middle of Tokyo in a school girl uniform, without her books, in the middle of a school and work day, walking all the way home to touch a tree.

Putting it that way made Kagome feel better. Like she was a little less insane.

* * *

Miroku lay beside his bride on a late Sunday morning, just a week after months since Kagome had left. He stared at Sango's stomach intently, as though waiting for something to happen. And then, it did. From her stomach came a sharp jolt- a little kick. Miroku grinned from ear to ear. 

"Koiishi, it happened! It moved!" he said with a triumphant grin on his face.

"I know, Miroku, it's only been happening for a week now."

* * *

He'd had enough. The stupid birds were mocking him. Beckoning him to go to the well, to Kagome. But he couldn't: she'd asked him not to. 

_Please don't try and come after me._ _I can't take it anymore._

But she'd also said she loved him. But, even if he went after her, would she just think that she was a substitute for Kikyou? No, Kagome had more sense than that... if he went to her... if he saw her again, which, of course, he wanted to-

_Woahwoahwoahwaitasecondhere..._!

Had he just admitted to wanting to see her again? He had. But did that mean...? But then, he would have known it the whole time...

_Damn, I guess I **do** love her..._

Inuyasha let the thought slide around his brain for a moment.

_Yeah, I do love her. I love Kagome. _

He grinned. How long had he known? It seemed like forever, now that he thought about it. He had known that she loved him, too. That's why it hadn't surprised him when she said she'd loved him. He had felt the same way. So, did that mean that he let go of Kikyou's memory?

No, it only meant that he had let go of the past, and thoughts of what he could have had, for thoughts of what he _would_ have. He needed Kagome, he really did. He hadn't noticed when she had been here, and after she'd left, he didn't know why he had that gnawing pain. But, he'd only had to realize that he loved her to realize how much he needed her.

Six months... six months Kagome had been gone. Maybe what she had really needed all along was a rest from himself. He still had the Shikon no Tama! He could go to her!

But wait... things like this weren't like a youkai attack– something he could rush into... he had to plan it out... _very_ carefully. He had to think... what did girls like... _flowers_! Yes, he could get her some flowers!

...But, what if she was already over him? Kagome was as pretty and angelic -though not always as graceful- as an angel. She was sure to have guys like -gack- Kouga all over her everyday. Who was to say? Maybe she had taken one of them up on one of their offers.

But Inuyasha could feel the growth of a man inside of him -a feeling he had felt only when he had seen Kikyou die. If he had to, he would grovel. He couldn't believe himself, but yes, he had to protect her. He wanted to be the man in her life. Kagome was the first person to treat him like he was actually worth shit, and he didn't want to lose her. He _wouldn't_ lose her.

Not again.

* * *

"_No, no, no! _Kaede, you _can't_ let them do this!" Sango screamed. 

Kaede swallowed, and then said softly, "I know, child, but you will have a miscarriage if this baby is not delivered now. The snake youkai that attacked you didn't have enough venom to hurt you, however, the babe is another story..."

"B- but, she'll be too early... she could die!" Miroku's voice rose, shaking. Sango had confided only into him that she was certain her unborn child would be female. They had already chosen a name. _Ichiko, _one child.

But Sango had been attacked, while at home -she wasn't able to fight with the babe- by a snake youkai. Unable to properly defend herself, and with Miroku doing an exorcism on the other side of the village, she was struck down. With help from one of the village girls who had been employed by Miroku to help he with her daily chores, she had gone to Kaede, who, in turn, had given her some herbs to induce labor before the snake venom reached her bloodstream -and the baby.

Sango screamed out from induced labor pains, and Miroku twitched painfully. Inuyasha -who's plans had been put off momentarily- had been sent to find something to help with the labor. His nose was so powerful, that it was the only thing he was able to do for the girl without being sick himself. Inuyasha thought for a moment about anything he could do to help. His first thought was to get Kikyou to help- but that idea quickly faded with the remembrance of her death. Then, Sesshoumaru– but there was no way he was going to help. And, then, the final thought ran across his mind – the perfect way to save Sango's baby. Inuyasha reached into his kimono and pulled out the jewel Kikyou had given him while she lay in his arms.

_The Shikon no Tama..._

But, forfeiting it would mean the loss of Kagome- there would be no way he could go back to her without the Tama, unless he planned staying in her time. But, that really wasn't an option.

But, Inuyasha knew what he had to do. The Shikon no Tama was the key to solving everyone's problems. Too bad there was only one.

Inuyasha headed back to the hut, praying that somehow, when it was all over, that Kagome would still be an option.

* * *

Sango sat on the front porch, humming a song to her week old girl, Ichiko. She and Miroku had wanted to name the baby Koinu, after the sacrifice Inuyasha had made to them, but he had adamantly refused to name the baby after himself, saying that the name was enough of a curse upon himself. So, Ichiko had stayed. The little girl cooed and bubbled when her 'ji-chan' walked near them, as though the babe knew precisely what he had done for her. 

Upon seeing him, Sango's heart bubbled with warmth. She wiped away the tears from her eyes.

"Inuyasha, I know what you did for us" - the hanyou's face reddened considerably - "and you know you didn't have to. You should have went to Kagome. You gave that up for us?"

Inuyasha cleared his throat. "Well, in the end, it worked out anyway, 'cause the Tama wasn't completely purified. I guess it couldn't be in the hands of a hanyou."

"But," Miroku's voice came from behind them. "You didn't _know_ that it wouldn't be purified. Inuyasha, we can see that you're not happy without her. I'm surprised it took_ you_ so long to realize it. You were willing to give up the happiness Kagome gives you for your friends... You are truly an honorable man."

Inuyasha blushed deeper. "It was no big deal..."

"Yes," Sango said softly, "It _was _a big deal. It was Ichiko."

Inuyasha bent down over the little girl. Sango smiled at him.

"Would you like to hold her?"

Inuyasha reddened again. "Uh... no, that's fine... I"- But the baby was place in his arms before he could explain why he shouldn't hold her. Inuyasha watched her bubble and smile and laugh. He watched her for a few moments, mesmerized, and then spoke. "She's still so small. She could get hurt so easily."

"Of course she could," Miroku said. "That why she has parents and a Ji-chan to protect her."

Sango looked at Inuyasha. "She should have a ba-chan, too." She was pleased to see Inuyasha blush more. Inuyasha handed the baby back to Sango with almost painful carefulness. "Well, Inuyasha, we should be going back inside, now. If you should -oh, I don't know- say, _disappear_, Miroku and I will assume that you've vanished, and not bother looking for you." Sango and Miroku turned to leave, but then, Sango paused. "And Inuyasha, _thank you._"

* * *

Kagome swept the early autumn leaves from the concrete steps of the Higurashi Shrine. She knew she looked like Kikyou in the miko kimono she wore. But it was traditional, and her Jii-chan would rather have hemorrhoids than see her do anything un-traditional. She leaned on the broom and sighed. Houjou stood beside her, trying to tell her the difference between certain kinds of diseases, lingering on the ones she'd supposedly had before, and making it a point to tell her how much more she probably knew than him. 

And, of course, he had complimented her on how pretty she looked in miko garb.

Kagome sighed again. Some people were just stupid, she supposed. And others were just plain stubborn. Kagome felt her mind rifting to Inuyasha again, but she just brushed it off as memories... that is until she glanced at the well house. In the October sunshine, Kagome could have _sworn_ she saw a flash a silver. But then, she decided it was just her imagination.

She told Houjou that she'd best b getting inside, then watched him walk down the steps, before the resumed sweeping. But, then, that flash of silver caught her eye. She stared at the well for a minute, but then, decided to go inside.

_You're finally starting to crack._

But then, she saw him. It took an entire minute to register, before tears overtook her eyes, and the broom fell to her feel with a clatter. She bolted off, towards the well house.

She had felt it.

The Shikon no Tama.

* * *

He had been watching her sweep for almost twenty minutes, before he had first caught her eye. She had been talking to some boy– or, rather, he had been talking to her. She had seemed completely disinterested. But, when she'd finally sensed Inuyasha, she had ran. Inuyasha could honestly say, he had never seen any one human run so fast. But she had, and in the miko robes that were already too large for her, she tripped. And landed right at his feet. 

When she sat up, she had tears in her eyes. Why she was crying, he didn't know. Perhaps they were tears of happiness? Anger? Disbelief?

More than likely, it was probably the last. Kagome stood up, and stared at him for a moment before touching his face. Then, she threw herself onto him, weeping openly.

"Inuyasha," she asked, still sobbing, "why are you here?" She looked up at him again, and Inuyasha almost smiled at how angelic she looked with her face all flushed and tears streaming down her cheeks.

Inuyasha bit down his pride. He knew the answer.

"Because..." he started. "I don't want you to give up on me. I... love you." There. He'd said it. "I need you to be there with me. I need you to feel strong and secure... I need you."

He let Kagome cry on his shoulders for a few minutes, before he decided she would probably be more comfortable in her own room. He carried her to the window outside of her room, and opened it using his claws. He sat her down on the bed, and then looked down at her. She had stopped crying.

"Kagome, why did you leave?"

She looked up at Inuyasha with big, teary, blue eyes. "I was afraid of... you. I was afraid of what you wanted... Who you wanted." Kagome took a breath. "Who was I to you? Who was Kikyou?"

Inuyasha sighed. He had known that she would ask this question. Now how to answer it? "You were the only person... who ever completely trusted me. You didn't treat me like I was day-old dog shit. You treated me like a man when I was being a man, and a child when I was being a child."

"And Kikyou?"

Inuyasha could tell that it hurt her to ask these questions, but he also knew she had to if she was going to move on. "Kikyou... I needed Kikyou a long time ago to tell me that I wasn't a horrible _thing_ that deserved to die. But I don't think I ever needed her to _live_. She and I would have stayed friends, but I don't think I ever could have loved her like I once did."

"What do you mean? You're talking about her like she's..." Kagome trailed of.

"Dead?" Inuyasha scowled. "She is. That bastard Naraku killed her again." Inuyasha looked at Kagome again, and sighed with defeat. "If there was one thing I would have wanted to do for her, I would have wanted her to have rested in peace the first time, although she did help a lot in destroying Naraku."

"So, Naraku is dead?"

"As dead as one like him could be. I'm sure to Sango, he's still alive and haunting her with the death of Kohaku."

"He died?"

"Yeah. He finally died in Sango's arms." Kagome gasped. "Yeah, well, if you ask me, it's better that he die, anyway. He shouldn't have been forced to live with those memories, anyway."

"Yeah..."

Kagome and Inuyasha were silent for a minute. Inuyasha pulled Kagome into his arms, and lay there for a while, just listening to her breathe. He had never felt so much at peace with the world. After a few minutes, Kagome started humming a soft song.

When she was through, Inuyasha spoke up. "That was pretty," he said, very softly. "What was it called?"

"It was called 'Love', Inuyasha."

"_Rabu_... that's a nice word. What does it mean?"

"It means 'ai'."

"Oh. Kagome...?"

Kagome raised her head so it was parallel to Inuyasha's. Then, he leaned in and kissed her. Later, Kagome would be the one to take the blame for deepening the kiss, though, it was Inuyasha's tongue that flicked against her lips, begging for entrance. She opened her mouth a little and relaxed into him.

She pulled away for only a second to whisper: "I love you, too, Inuyasha."

* * *

_I love you, too, Inuyasha._

Inuyasha awoke entangled in Kagome. His fingers were wrapped in her hair, her arms were around his neck. He could smell the scent of the two of them mixed up all over the room, and it was as nice as it was intoxicating. He was completely relaxed. Inuyasha couldn't even remember the last time he woke up groggy.

He and Kagome hadn't had sex. And Inuyasha could honestly say that he was not in the least bit disappointed.

After Kagome awoke, they talked some more, and Inuyasha told her about Ichiko. He told her about how Naraku had died, and about Sesshoumaru. They talked for what seemed like hours, until Souta barged in, and let the entire house know of Inuyasha's half-naked presence. They spent the entire day together, talking. Inuyasha asked Kagome why she had needed to leave, and Kagome asked him why he had come back.

And in the afternoon, without anyone making it formal, Kagome and Inuyasha said their goodbyes to her family and left.

On the other side of the well, in the feudal era, Inuyasha took Kagome by her hand and said, "You didn't have to come back here, you know."

Kagome smiled and said, "I know. But I love it here."

And after Kagome had spent some time with Miroku, Sango, and Shippou, she and Inuyasha had went outside to enjoy the night air. It was then that Kagome whispered, only to Inuyasha.

"I'm home."

* * *

A/N: Okay, what I'm sure you're all wondering about right now... Why does this story have two names? Simple. What was the last thing Kagome says? I'm Home. Tadaima. There you go. That and the fact that I like that song by DAI. 


End file.
